Cunampaia
Encyclopedia
Cunampaia is a dubious
genus
of extinct mesoeucrocodylia
n. Fossil
s have been found from the Divisadero Largo Formation of Mendoza Province
, Argentina
, and date back to the Divisaderan
regional South American Land Mammal Age of the lower Eocene
epoch. Originally it was regarded as a gruiform
bird, being only recently reassigned as a crocodylomorph
. In 1968 it was placed in its own family
, Cunampaiidae, which falls within the suborder Cariamae
. Despite this classification, it has frequently been referred to as a phorusrhacid
.
Due to the lack of autapomorphies
associated with the genus, Cunampaia is now considered to be a nomen dubium
. As a result of this, its position is indeterminate within Mesoeucrocodylia.
Nomen dubium
In zoological nomenclature, a nomen dubium is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application...
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of extinct mesoeucrocodylia
Mesoeucrocodylia
Mesoeucrocodylia is the name of the clade that includes Eusuchia and the paraphyletic group Mesosuchia. The group appeared during the Early Jurassic, and continues to the present day....
n. Fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s have been found from the Divisadero Largo Formation of Mendoza Province
Mendoza Province
The Province of Mendoza is a province of Argentina, located in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders to the north with San Juan, the south with La Pampa and Neuquén, the east with San Luis, and to the west with the republic of Chile; the international limit is...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, and date back to the Divisaderan
Divisaderan
The Divisaderan age is a period of geologic time within the Eocene epoch of the Paleogene used more specifically with South American Land Mammal Ages. It follows the Mustersan and precedes the Tinguirirican age....
regional South American Land Mammal Age of the lower Eocene
Eocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
epoch. Originally it was regarded as a gruiform
Gruiformes
The Gruiformes are an order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like"....
bird, being only recently reassigned as a crocodylomorph
Crocodylomorpha
The Crocodylomorpha are an important group of archosaurs that include the crocodilians and their extinct relatives.During Mesozoic and early Tertiary times the Crocodylomorpha were far more diverse than they are now. Triassic forms were small, lightly built, active terrestrial animals. These were...
. In 1968 it was placed in its own family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
, Cunampaiidae, which falls within the suborder Cariamae
Cariamae
Cariamae is a suggested name for a group of primarily flightless birds that have been around for 63 million years. The group includes the families Cariamidae, Phorusrhacidae, Bathornithidae, Idiornithidae and Ameghinornithidae...
. Despite this classification, it has frequently been referred to as a phorusrhacid
Phorusrhacidae
Phorusrhacids , colloquially known as "terror birds" as the larger species were apex predators during the Miocene, were a clade of large carnivorous flightless birds that were the dominant predators in South America during the Cenozoic, 62–2 million years ago. They were roughly 1–3 meters tall...
.
Due to the lack of autapomorphies
Autapomorphy
In cladistics, an autapomorphy is a distinctive anatomical feature, known as a derived trait, that is unique to a given terminal group. That is, it is found only in one member of a clade, but not found in any others or outgroup taxa, not even those most closely related to the group...
associated with the genus, Cunampaia is now considered to be a nomen dubium
Nomen dubium
In zoological nomenclature, a nomen dubium is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application...
. As a result of this, its position is indeterminate within Mesoeucrocodylia.